How the World Commutes

Rio de Janeiro
Cable cars transport commuters living in Complexo do Alemão, a group of slums in the hills of Rio de Janeiro. Introduced in Brazil in early 2011, the cable-car line has become a popular form of transportation for busy urban centers in South America. This particular system can carry 30,000 commuters a day and reduces an hour-and-a-half trip to the nearest commuter-rail station to a 16-minute ride out of the slums.

• The World at 7 Billion